Lycianthes cladotrichota (Bitter) Bitter, Abh. Naturwiss. Vereins Bremen 24 [preprint]: 504. 1919.

Knapp, Sandra, 2022, A revision of Lycianthes (Solanaceae) in Australia, New Guinea, and the Pacific, PhytoKeys 209, pp. 1-134 : 1

5. Lycianthes cladotrichota (Bitter) Bitter, Abh. Naturwiss. Vereins Bremen 24 [preprint]: 504. 1919.

Figs 3B, F , 16 , 17

Solanum cladotrichotum Bitter, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 55: 96. 1917. Type. Papua New Guinea. Sanduan: “Sepikgebiet” [Felsspitze = Rocky Peak in Ledermann 1919], 1,400 m, Jul-Aug 1913, C.L. Ledermann 12606 (holotype: B [destroyed]; lectotype, designated by Symon 1985, pg. 40: K [K000759443]; isolectotypes: BM [BM000778204], L [L0003588], LAE).

Solanum patellicalyx Bitter, Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 55: 99. 1917. Type. Papua New Guinea. East Sepik: “Hunsteinspitz” [Mount Hunstein], 1,300 m, Feb-Mar 1913, C.L. Ledermann 11272, 11483 (syntypes: B, destroyed; no duplicates found).

Lycianthes patellicalyx (Bitter) Bitter, Abh. Naturwiss. Vereins Bremen 24 [preprint]: 504. 1919. Type. Based on Solanum patellicalyx Bitter.

Type.

Based on Solanum cladotrichotum Bitter.

Description.

Shrubs or more commonly described as woody climbers, to 10 m tall (long); stems terete, moderately to densely pubescent with stiff uniseriate dendritic trichomes to 1.5 mm long, the branches antler-like and well-spaced, occasionally also mixed with with stiff uniseriate simple trichomes; new growth densely pubescent with stiff dendritic trichomes like those of the stems; bark of older stems pale brown, not markedly glabrescent, but becoming somewhat corky and peeling. Sympodia units unifoliate (minor leaves deciduous?) or difoliate and the leaves geminate, the leaves of a pair very different in size and shape; minor leaves often only present on new non-reproductive shoots. Leaves simple; blades of major leaves 7-19 cm long, 3.5-10 cm wide, elliptic to broadly elliptic (the type with narrowly elliptic leaves), widest in the middle, somewhat discolorous, chartaceous to coriaceous, thick and possibly rubbery-fleshy in live plants; adaxial surfaces shiny, glabrous but densely to moderately dendritic-pubescent along the veins and keeled midrib; abaxial surfaces sparsely and evenly pubescent with stiff antler-like dendritic trichomes ca. 0.5 mm long on the lamina, these denser along the veins and midrib; principal veins 8-12 pairs, prominent and impressed adaxially; base acute to truncate; margins entire; apex acute to abruptly acuminate with an elongate drip-tip; petiole 1-1.5 cm long, moderately pubescent with stiff dendritic trichomes like those of the stems and leaves; blades of minor leaves (if present) 1-2.2 cm long, 1-1.2 cm wide, orbicular and somewhat clasping the stem, bullate, pubescence like that of the major leaves; base truncate or cordate; margins entire; apex obtuse or rounded; petioles minute, to 0.5 cm long. Inflorescences dense axillary fascicles of 10-20 flowers, many flowers open at once, densely dendritic-pubescent with antler-like trichomes from the adjacent stems; pedicels at anthesis 0.7-1.5 cm long, ca. 0.5 mm in diameter at the base, ca. 1.5 mm in diameter at the apex, spreading to erect, possible held below the leaves, sparsely to moderately pubescent with stiff antler-like dendritic trichomes like those of the stems and leaves, articulated at the base; pedicel scars tightly clustered in the leaf axils. Buds ellipsoid, the corolla halfway exserted from the calyx tube before anthesis. Flowers 5-merous, heterostylous and apparently unisexual on separate plants, individual specimens either all long-styled and with fruit (e.g., Takeuchi 22892) or short-styled (e.g., Carr 15946). Calyx tube ca. 2 mm long, 3-4 mm in diameter, woody and stiff in dry specimens, fleshy in live plants, cup-shaped or slightly urceolate, sparsely pubescent with stiff dendritic trichomes like those of the stems and pedicels, mixed with some simple uniseriate trichomes of similar stiffness and size, without appendages, the rim slightly constricted. Corolla 1-1.3 cm in diameter, white or pale purple, stellate, lobed nearly to the base, interpetalar tissue absent, the lobes ca. 5 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide, spreading or perhaps reflexed, thick (fleshy in live plants), densely papillate on tips and margins, the tips slightly cucullate. Stamens equal; filament tube minute; free portion of the filaments 0.5-1 mm long, densely pubescent with tangled weak-walled simple uniseriate trichomes; anthers ca. 3 mm long, 1.25-1.5 mm wide, yellow, poricidal at the tips, the pores distally directed, not splitting with age. Ovary conical, glabrous; style in short-styled flowers less than 0.5 mm long or absent, in long-styled flowers 4-4.5 mm long, straight, glabrous; stigma broadly bilobed, the surfaces minutely papillate. Fruit a globose berry, 0.5-0.6 cm in diameter, yellow-green (immature?) or fleshy blue-violet (fide Bitter 1917 in description of S. patellicalyx ), the pericarp glabrous, thin, matte, opaque; fruiting pedicels 1-1.4 cm long, ca. 1 mm in diameter at the base, 1.5-2 mm in diameter at the apex, spreading or pendent, somewhat woody, with a few dendritic trichomes; fruiting calyx a spreading cup beneath the berry, woody in dry specimens, fleshy in live plants (?), often with a few dendritic trichomes, but these usually absent and the calyx somewhat corky or warty. Seeds 80-100 per berry, 2-2.5 mm long, 1.2-1.5 mm wide, tear-drop shaped with no distinct notch, the hilum apical, tan, the surfaces deeply pitted (less so in centre of seeds), the testal cells pentagonal in outline. Stone cells absent. Chromosome number not known.

Distribution

(Fig. 18 ). Lycianthes cladotrichota is endemic to the island of New Guinea; it has been collected in Papua New Guinea (Central, Eastern Highlands, Milne Bay, Oro, Sanduan, Western) and Indonesia (Papua).

Ecology and habitat.

Lycianthes cladotrichota is a plant of lowland rainforest, occurring between 50 and 1,400 m elevation.

Common names.

Papua New Guinea. Oro: ahara (Orokaira language, Hoogland 3979).

Preliminary conservation assessment

( IUCN 2020). EOO (254,412 km2 - LC); AOO (48 km2 - EN). Lycianthes cladotrichota is known from six localities across the island of New Guinea, but in spite of its apparently large distribution it has a relatively small area of occupancy (due to lack of collecting generally). Given the small AOO and its primary forest habitat, I suggest a preliminary threat status of Vulnerable (VU [B2a(iii, iv)]) for L. cladotrichota . It does occur in at least one protected area (Crater Mountain Wildlife Area).

Discussion.

Lycianthes cladotrichota a relatively widely distributed species of wet, lowland forests. It is distinctive in its stiff, antrorse pubescence of dendritic trichomes, thick, shiny major leaves, and tiny, orbicular minor leaves. The sympodia often appear unifoliate, but this is due to the abscission of the minor leaves - on young stems they are uniformly present (Fig. 2B ). The thick, slightly urceolate calyx tube (Fig. 2F ) is somewhat like that of L. oliveriana , but that species is glabrous, and the minor leaves are not tiny and deciduous. The fruiting calyx in L. cladotrichota is a spreading cup, while that of L. oliveriana cups the lower part of the berry, making it look at bit like an acorn. Lycianthes impar has similar small, heart-shaped or orbicular minor leaves, but can easily be distinguished by its simple rather than dendritic pubescence and in its inflorescence with a distinct axis; L. cladotrichota flowers are strictly fasciculate in the leaf axils.

The holotype of Lycianthes cladotrichota (Ledermann 12606) was in Berlin and is no longer extant; fortunately, unlike many other Ledermann collections, several duplicates exist. Lycianthes patellicalyx was described ( Bitter 1917) from collections made a few months earlier than those used to describe L. cladotrichota , the principal distinguishing characteristics of the former were its slightly broader and less pubescent leaves. Lycianthes cladotrichota was described from flowering plants, and L. patellicalyx from fruiting material; in these plants that are possibly dioecious these differences can seem striking in the absence of more specimens. I have found duplicates of neither of the collections cited in the protologue of L. patellicalyx (Ledermann 11272, 11483), both from Mount Hunstein ( Veldkamp et al. 1988). Symon (1985) placed L. patellicalyx (as S. patellicalyx ) in synonymy with L. cladotrichota based on the similarity in descriptions, I maintain that here, and await further collections to neotypify the former name.

Specimens examined.

Indonesia. Papua: Mimika Regency, Mount Jaya , PT-Freeport Indonesia Concession Area, Kuala Kencana, near Ecological Plot 5, 65 m, 25 Jan 1998, Johns et al. 8900 (A, K, MO) .

Papua New Guinea. Central: Kairuku-Hiri District, Mt. Gerebu, Trail towards summit ridge, 489 m, 5 Nov 2013, James et al. SAJ 1385 (BISH, BM, LAE). Eastern Highlands: M[oun]t Otto, south slopes,, m, 6 Aug 1959, Brass 30845 (K, L, LAE, US); Mount Gahavisuka , 2,250 m, Apr 1983, Cruttwell 2310 (K, L, LAE); Daulo Pass, top of Daulo Pass, 2,320 m, 22 Jun 1977, Symon, & Katik 10676 (K, LAE, MO, US); Crater Mountain Wildlife Area , ridge above Hauneäbäbo, 1,920 m, 21 Jul 1998, Takeuchi 12379 (K, US). Milne Bay: Raba Raba subdistrict, junction Ugat and Mayu Rivers, near Mayu Island ( Mt Suckling complex), 400 m, 25 Jul 1972, Streimann & Katik NGF-34091 (E, K, L, LAE, US); Oro: Isuarava [Isurava], 1,067 m, 4 Mar 1936, Carr 15946 (BM, G, K, L, NY, P), 15 Mar 1936, Carr 16109 (BM, G, K, L, NY); "Northern Div." near Pitoki village , ca. 3 km S of Kokoda station, 23 Sep 1953, Hoogland 3979 (A, LAE); Kokoda , ' Northern District , Papua’, 400 m, 28 Jul 1964, Millar NGF-23549 (K, L, LAE). Western: Baia River (Expedition Bivouac 3) survey track B, 300 m, 13 Feb 2008, Takeuchi et al. 22892 (A, K, LAE, MO) .

Figures

Figure 2. Representative morphology of Lycianthes A Lycianthes oliveriana with major and minor leaves differing only in size (Damas et al. SAJ- 1050, Papua New Guinea) B Lycianthes cladotrichota with major and minor leaves differing markedly in size and shape (James et al. SAJ- 1385, Papua New Guinea) C Lycianthes biflora in fruit with linear, awn-like calyx appendages (Knapp 10106, Yunnan, China) D Lycianthes oliveriana with urceolate calyces with no appendages (Damas et al. SAJ- 1050, Papua New Guinea) E Lycianthes biflora with stellate corollas and membranous lobes (Knapp 10106, Yunnan, China) F Lycianthes cladotrichota with stellate corollas and thick, fleshy lobes (short-styled plant, James et al. SAJ- 1385, Papua New Guinea). Photograph credits: A, B, D, F Shelley James; C, E Sandra Knapp.

Figure 3. Trichome diversity in New Guinea Lycianthes A simple (unbranched) stiff, antrorse trichomes (Streimann & Katik NGF- 34091) B simple (unbranched) " crisped " trichomes (Kalkmann BW- 3479) C dendritic (antler-like) trichomes (Streimann & Katik NGF- 34091) D dendritic (Christmas-tree like) trichomes (Wells NGF- 7565) E simple (unbranched) stiff, antrorse trichomes with enlarged bases (Millar NGF- 40737). Drawing by Lucy Smith.

Figure 16. Lycianthes cladotrichota (Bitter) Bitter A flowering branch B inflorescence with long-styled flowers C long-styled flower D short-styled flowers E fruiting branch F berry G, H trichomes from stem I trichome from calyx. (A, G, H Streimann & Katik NGF- 30479 B, I Takeuchi 22832 C Crutwell 2310 D photograph of James et al. SAJ- 1385 E, F Takeuchi 12379). Drawing by Lucy Smith. Scale bars: 4 cm (A, E); 7 mm (B, C); 7.5 mm (D, F); 0.9 mm (G-I).

Figure 17. Lycianthes cladotrichota herbarium specimen. Papua New Guinea. Oro: Carr 15946 (BM 001018981). Courtesy of the Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, reproduced with permission.

Figure 18. Distribution of Lycianthes cladotrichota.